Earlier this year, Portland based electronic/dark-wave project NewPhaseMusic released their album "The Precedents of the United States of America", a synthetic, sterile, and scathing take on the history, culture and political division of our country, most especially during the past half decade.
Harkening back to industrial style projects of the late 20th century (Ministry's album "Twitch" most comes to mind, with a little bit of 90's Butthole Surfers' indifference and swagger), but with a more modern twist, NewPhaseMusic offers cold vocals, almost inhuman and detached, over tight synth-laden backdrops.
Samples poke through the mix, be it bits of dialogue or musical hits and blips, accenting themes of stark realism and dissidence. What really sets this album aside from other electronic projects, that can sometimes be too stiff and lifeless, is project mastermind Daniel Henderson's frenetic drumming throughout. It is the centerpiece of the album, bringing a human energy, and severity, to each tense moment.
And "The Precedents of The United States of America" is a tense listen; each track is a slow build, with bombastic pay off after bombastic pay off. It's a patient journey at times, with some tracks reaching over the six minute mark, but this album offers much more than most modern "political" tracks attempt to, because each track has real substance, not on shock value or opportunism.
Daniel Henderson has been observing the dark state of the world with keen and watchful eyes, and "The Precedents of The United States of America" is his cold and stark report on it. Read his interview below and stream the album as you dig into his thoughts:
For starters, what bands were you a part of prior to Newphasemusic? How long has the project been around?
Early on it was Ithaca, New York's The Original Mr.Downstairs, which was intelligent thrash metal in the vein of Deftones, Incubus, and Candiria; since moving to Portland, I've been in neo-psychedelic post-punk band Trance to the Sun; Tuvan throat singer Soriah; Devoured By Flowers; and Portland Cure Tribute theXplodingboys. Newphasemusic was going on during all this, and began from unused contributions to The Original Mr.Downstairs nearly 20 years ago plus me messing around with ModTracker.
Once I moved to Portland, I went back to school and put my drums away for a while and only had MIDI instrumentation to work with—so I delved deeper into industrial soundscapes. The intent was to make electronic music as intense as I could, to approximate the intensity of the metal shows I was used to playing at the time.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Like many facets of the project, the name was out of left field and completely unrelated. It used to just be Newphase—a few songs I sent into the world back in 2006 or so are out on Soundcloud with that name—but someone else thought of using it in the ensuing 15 years, so I changed it around 2017. That's fine, Newphasemusic is more unique.
What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
The root causes of systemic societal issues, the ones you don't see when you look straight at them because you aren't supposed to. And probably not, since there are many of them. The Precedents of the United States EP delves deeply into different facets of greed-based politics, and how it shapes our societal landscape. The forthcoming album The Dark Side of the Earth addresses several different issues, similar to the approach on The Dark Side of the Moon regarding madness—hence the name.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Our many local talents in the Darkwave and Industrial genres, notably Xibling and We Are Parasols. Meshuggah. Meat Beat Manifesto. Soft Moon. The Cure's song construction. Pigface is a big contributor to the intent of the project right now because it is also a collaborative entity. Phil Collins/Genesis and Dave Grohl continue to inspire me for getting off their drum stools and out front, and for writing memorable songs. There's some symphonic influence too.. Beethoven, Berlioz and Dvořák to name a few.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
No. And as such, the project had no form and very unique constraints. It didn't have a genre. It was only ideas. That was incredibly freeing, and it still is. I think about 5 years ago I determined what I wanted it to be—really, what it was—and focused it a little bit. Seeing Soft Moon live in 2017 gave me the first clear vision of what I wanted to accomplish live, so that was a very important step forward.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
The guests I've collaborated with, on and off the stage. Newphasemusic was a solo endeavor for the first 15 years, though I always intended to bring friends in to play some of the parts. In 2018, my good friend Eric Sorenson/Ahp00k from the Portland synth collective Volt Divers helped me realize a live version of Newphasemusic. He helped me find the right electronics gear, he mapped out the set using Ableton and picked out some parts to play live while I worked through mine. He also introduced electric guitar into it, so it was more like I originally envisioned it.
That boost onto the stage gave Newphasemusic a new momentum, helped me further envision what a live experience could be like, and helped re-focus the instrumentation on this EP. Though Eric is no longer involved, he plays guitar on the Precedents track Division by Zero which we wrote during this time, and he also helped me play the warped Carnival Junkie solo. I also worked with Jana Cushman, the front of electrohaze band Darkswoon and a film composer/supervisor most notable for winning Best Score at the DTLA Filmfest for the indie film ‘My Summer As A Goth’, on a cover of 'Go' by The Indigo Girls through late summer and that was a terrific experience. I've had several friends give me suggestions or tips along the way, and I am excited about who might contribute in the future. It keeps the project fun.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
It would be an incredible honor to perform with The Cure, since I highly respect them as people and know their songs really well. Being a part of a Pigface or Meat Beat Manifesto line-up would be amazing as well.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I really hope that people check out The Precedents of the United States of America EP because it examines how we got to where we are politically—and now, socially. One of the songs is ten years old apart from a new stanza of lyrics, and it doesn't even matter because it's all been progressing over the years in a straight line. Some of the more prophetic lyrics in Secret Code and Egg on Face came true during the process of finishing the EP. It may seem like we're finally moving out of the storm, but the underlying forces are still there and we must address the root causes and stay vigilant.
Proceeds from the Precedents EP go to the ACLU. Also, please check out Go (featuring Jana Cushman)--proceeds from that single benefit Rock The Vote. Those were both released this year. I am working on a remix at the moment, so watch for that shortly. And please stay tuned for upcoming singles from the Newphasemusic album The Dark Side of the Earth, which is currently in production. All of this is or will be available through Bandcamp and most streaming and purchase platforms.
Thank you for having me! This was fun.